have you ever had an off month of running

First it was 2 weeks of hot and humid weather with temps in the mid 30's oC to low 40's oC where no matter how hard i tried, i could not maintain pace unless it was speedwork day with 400's. During that time, I added extra strength but didn't recovery properly with appropriate nutrition fast enough which lead to minimal sleep over 3 nights. Then i had to travel for a week (during my reduced mileage week) where i had to run after work rather than before due to early morning meetings, suffered some migraine headaches due to lack of sleep. I ate probably too much food trying to recover and felt overly bloated. My muscled didn't seem to want to work right and every easy run felt soo hard. I'm now into my final 3 weeks of building for my first 10k race and my mind is fighting me tooth and nail. The temps are now in the high teens or low 20's (usually perfect for any type of run, let along faster runs and long runs) yet i always feel out of breath and my mind say no. I"ve never quit a run but have done it once last weekend and almost did it again today. I stopped, lay down..watched others run by and tried to refocus..started going again..and finished the run but it wasn't pretty. I love running and am really struggling mentally right now. Things were so different in June as i was raring to go and determined. I am still determined..i just can't seem to keep my mind in the game. I cried at the end of my run today when i got home as i'm so frustated with myself. I know..too much pressure..i tell myself to just have fun and enjoy....and only I can get my mind back on track..

Sure you aren't over-training again? There's a lot of that going around this time of year.

after you said that..i thought about it and initially said naw..maybe close to nope..tried to do my highly aerobic run...and felt hard ..pace much slower than expected per effort....stopped..and said...yup..need a break...

My running coach asked this past weekend if i wanted one..i said no..well, things change..taking some time off to rejuvinate my mind and body..

Going through the same thing myself after 3 weeks off due to work and family issues. Finally forced myself out of bed yesterday and today and managed a little over three miles both runs. Like you not pretty but got it done. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Good luck!

And that is the most important thing..keep moving..taking one step at a time

I had to take about three months off over the last winter due to an injury. It was a real struggle, mentally, getting back -- I was still struggling to regain physically what had been lost and every little set back or bad run could really throw a dark cloud over everything. I did start to have some great runs and reminded myself that even when my body isn't zooming along at peak pace that I'm at least out running.

Going through the same thing myself after 3 weeks off due to work and family issues. Finally forced myself out of bed yesterday and today and managed a little over three miles both runs. Like you not pretty but got it done. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Good luck!

Welcome to The Loop

The Loop is an active community of bloggers. "Loopsters" share their running experiences and give each other tons of encouragement. To get involved, post a comment on someone's blog or click the "Add Content" button and then select "Blog Post in The Loop" to start a blog of your own.

Remove From Your Block List

Manage Follow Preferences

Block

When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.